Lower platelet counts were associated with 90-day adverse outcomes in acute-on-chronic liver disease patients

Patient Selection for Living Donor Liver Transplantation in Acute-on-chronic Liver Failure

Background and objectives

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is associated with high short-term mortality without liver transplantation (LT). The selection criteria for LT in these patients are not well defined. The objective of this study was to determine factors associated with post-transplant survival in ACLF.

Methods

This was a single-center retrospective study of patients who underwent living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) for ACLF between 2012 and 2022. Out of 1093 transplants, 110 patients had underlying ACLF, based on the European Association for the Study of the Liver-Chronic Liver Failure Consortium (EASL-CLIF) criteria. We looked at factors associated with 1-year posttransplant survival.

Results

The median model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score was 33.5 (31-38), and the 1-year posttransplant survival was 72%. Six risk factors were associated with posttransplant survival, namely, body mass index > 30 kg/m2 [HR, 4.4; 95% CI, 1.8-10.7], platelet count < 66,000/μl [HR, 2.91; CI,1.2-6.6], poor response to medical treatment [HR, 2.6; CI, 1.1-5.7], drug-resistant bacterial or fungal cultures [HR, 4.2; CI, 1.4-12.4], serum creatinine > 2.5 mg/dl [HR, 3.4; CI, 1.5-7.7], and graft-to-recipient weight ratio < 0.7 [HR, 4.8; CI, 1.4-16.3]. The 1-year post-transplant survival was 84% in patients with 0-2 risk factors (n = 89) and was 6% with 3 risk factors (n = 15) (P < 0.001). For 1-year posttransplant survival, the area under curve (AUC) for the current model was 0.8 (0.69-0.9). The AUC for CLIF-ACLF, Chronic Liver Failure-Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (CLIF-SOFA), and EASL-CLIF ACLF grades was < 0.5.

Conclusion

In LT for ACLF, acceptable survival can be achieved when less than three high-risk factors are present.

D-dimer-to-platelet count ratio as a novel indicator for predicting prognosis in HBV-related decompensated cirrhosis

Background

Hepatitis B virus-related decompensated cirrhosis (HBV-DC) is a critical illness with a low survival rate. Timely identification of prognostic indicators is crucial for risk stratification and personalized management of patients. The present study aimed to investigate the potential of the D-dimer-to-platelet count ratio (DPR) as a prognostic indicator for HBV-DC.

Methods

A retrospective review of medical records was conducted for 164 patients diagnosed with HBV-DC. Baseline clinical and laboratory characteristics were extracted for analysis. The endpoint was 30-day mortality. Disease severity was assessed by the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score. A multivariate logistic regression model and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis (ROC) were used to evaluate the predictive value of DPR for mortality.

Results

During the 30-day follow-up period, 30 (18.3%) patients died. Non-survivors exhibited significantly higher DPR values than survivors, and a high DPR had a strong association with increased mortality. Importantly, DPR was identified as an independent risk factor for mortality in HBV-DC patients after adjustments for confounding factors (Odds ratio = 1.017; 95% Confidence interval, 1.006-1.029; p = 0.003). The cut-off value of DPR as a predictor of mortality was>57.6 (sensitivity = 57%, specificity = 86%, p < 0.001). The area under ROC curve for DPR for 30-day mortality was 0.762, comparable to the MELD score (p = 0.100). Furthermore, the combined use of DPR and MELD score further increased the area under the ROC curve to 0.897.

Conclusion

Elevated DPR was demonstrated to have a correlation with unfavorable outcomes in HBV-DC patients, suggesting its potential utility as an effective biomarker for assessment of prognosis in these patients.

Definition and classification of acute-on-chronic liver diseases

Patients with chronic liver diseases (CLDs) develop acute liver injury and/or acute decompensation under the attack of various precipitants and present with significantly elevated alanine aminotransferase and/or total bilirubin levels, liver failure, or acute decompensation of liver cirrhosis, which is called acute-on-CLD (AoCLD). AoCLD accounts for the majority of patients hospitalized in the Department of Hepatology or Infectious Diseases. AoCLD is complicated by various clinical types, the severity of the disease, and may pose a high risk of death. To date, the definition of AoCLD is still vague, and a consensus concept of the clinical classification is lacking. This review aimed to define the concept and clinical types of AoCLD based on related studies and the literature.

Platelet-to-White Blood Cell Ratio Is Associated with Adverse Outcomes in Cirrhotic Patients with Acute Deterioration

Background: The platelet-to-white blood cell ratio (PWR) is a hematologic marker of the systemic inflammatory response. Recently, the PWR was revealed to have a role as an independent prognostic factor for mortality in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related acute-on-chronic failure (ACLF) and HBV-related liver cirrhosis (LC) with acute decompensation (AD). However, the prognostic role of the PWR still needs to be investigated in LC patients with AD. In this study, we analyzed whether the PWR could stratify the risk of adverse outcomes (death or liver transplantation (LT)) in these patients. Methods: A prospective cohort of 1670 patients with AD of liver cirrhosis ((age: 55.2 ± 7.8, male = 1226 (73.4%)) was enrolled and evaluated for 28-day and overall adverse outcomes. Results: During a median follow-up of 8.0 months (range, 1.9−15.5 months), 424 (25.4%) patients had adverse outcomes (death = 377, LT = 47). The most common etiology of LC was alcohol use (69.7%). The adverse outcome rate was higher for patients with a PWR ≤ 12.1 than for those with a PWR > 12.1. A lower PWR level was a prognostic factor for 28-day adverse outcomes (PWR: hazard ratio 1.707, p = 0.034) when adjusted for the etiology of cirrhosis, infection, ACLF, and the MELD score. In the subgroup analysis, the PWR level stratified the risk of 28-day adverse outcomes regardless of the presence of ACLF or the main form of AD but not for those with bacterial infection. Conclusions: A lower PWR level was associated with 28-day adverse outcomes, indicating that the PWR level can be a useful and simple tool for stratifying the risk of 28-day adverse outcomes in LC patients with AD.

Increased INR Values Predict Accelerating Deterioration and High Short-Term Mortality Among Patients Hospitalized With Cirrhosis or Advanced Fibrosis

Background and Objective: An increase in the international normalized ratio (INR) is associated with increased mortality in patients with cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases, while little is known about the quantitative relationship. This study aimed to investigate the quantitative relationship between the INR and short-term prognosis among patients hospitalized with cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis and to evaluate the role of the INR as a risk factor for short-term liver transplant (LT)-free mortality in these patients.

Patients and Methods: This study prospectively analyzed multicenter cohorts established by the Chinese Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure (CATCH-LIFE) study. Cox regression was used to describe the relationship between the INR and independent risk factors for short-term LT-free mortality. Forest plots were used in the subgroup analysis. Generalized additive models (GAMs) and splines were used to illustrate the quantitative curve relationship between the INR and the outcome and inflection point on the curve.

Results: A total of 2,567 patients with cirrhosis and 924 patients with advanced fibrosis were included in the study. The 90-day LT-free mortality of patients with cirrhosis and advanced fibrosis was 16.7% (428/2,567) and 7.5% (69/924), respectively. In the multivariable Cox regression analysis, the increase in the INR was independently associated with the risk of 90-day LT-free mortality both in patients with cirrhosis (HR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.04–1.07, p < 0.001) and in patients with advanced fibrosis (HR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.06–1.12, p < 0.001). An INR of 1.6/1.7 was found to be the starting point of coagulation dysfunction with a rapid increase in mortality in patients with cirrhosis or in patients with advanced fibrosis, respectively. A 28-day LT-free mortality of 15% was associated with an INR value of 2.1 in both cirrhosis and advanced fibrosis patients.

Conclusions: This study was the first to quantitatively describe the relationship between the INR and short-term LT-free mortality in patients with cirrhosis or advanced fibrosis. The starting points of INR indicating the rapid increase in mortality and the unified cutoff value of coagulation failure in cirrhosis and advanced fibrosis, will help clinicians accurately recognize early disease deterioration.